A Royal Mess: Gifts of Wisdom & Sand

We continue in our sermon series called A Royal Mess. Solomon had wisdom and discernment pouring out of him, but he still made mistakes – and so will we! While we can benefit from some of the wisdom that whirls around us, to be truly wise we need the wisdom that comes from above.

Solomon Asks for Wisdom

3 Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and married one of his daughters. He brought her to live in the City of David until he could finish building his palace and the Temple of the Lord and the wall around the city.2 At that time the people of Israel sacrificed their offerings at local places of worship, for a temple honoring the name of the Lord had not yet been built.

3 Solomon loved the Lord and followed all the decrees of his father, David, except that Solomon, too, offered sacrifices and burned incense at the local places of worship.4 The most important of these places of worship was at Gibeon, so the king went there and sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings.5 That night the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!”

6 Solomon replied, “You showed great and faithful love to your servant my father, David, because he was honest and true and faithful to you. And you have continued to show this great and faithful love to him today by giving him a son to sit on his throne.

7 “Now, O Lord my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around.8 And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted!9 Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?”

10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom.11 So God replied, “Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people with justice and have not asked for a long life or wealth or the death of your enemies—12 I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have!13 And I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life!14 And if you follow me and obey my decrees and my commands as your father, David, did, I will give you a long life.”

15 Then Solomon woke up and realized it had been a dream. He returned to Jerusalem and stood before the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, where he sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then he invited all his officials to a great banquet.

Solomon Judges Wisely

16 Some time later two prostitutes came to the king to have an argument settled.17 “Please, my lord,” one of them began, “this woman and I live in the same house. I gave birth to a baby while she was with me in the house.18 Three days later this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there were only two of us in the house.

19 “But her baby died during the night when she rolled over on it.20 Then she got up in the night and took my son from beside me while I was asleep. She laid her dead child in my arms and took mine to sleep beside her.21 And in the morning when I tried to nurse my son, he was dead! But when I looked more closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn’t my son at all.”

22 Then the other woman interrupted, “It certainly was your son, and the living child is mine.”

“No,” the first woman said, “the living child is mine, and the dead one is yours.” And so they argued back and forth before the king.

23 Then the king said, “Let’s get the facts straight. Both of you claim the living child is yours, and each says that the dead one belongs to the other.24 All right, bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought to the king.

25 Then he said, “Cut the living child in two, and give half to one woman and half to the other!”

26 Then the woman who was the real mother of the living child, and who loved him very much, cried out, “Oh no, my lord! Give her the child—please do not kill him!”

But the other woman said, “All right, he will be neither yours nor mine; divide him between us!”

27 Then the king said, “Do not kill the child, but give him to the woman who wants him to live, for she is his mother!”

28 When all Israel heard the king’s decision, the people were in awe of the king, for they saw the wisdom God had given him for rendering justice.

Solomon’s Officials and Governors

4 King Solomon now ruled over all Israel,2 and these were his high officials:

Azariah son of Zadok was the priest.3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were court secretaries.Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the royal historian.4 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was commander of the army.Zadok and Abiathar were priests.5 Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the district governors.Zabud son of Nathan, a priest, was a trusted adviser to the king.6 Ahishar was manager of the palace property.Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of forced labor.

7 Solomon also had twelve district governors who were over all Israel. They were responsible for providing food for the king’s household. Each of them arranged provisions for one month of the year.8 These are the names of the twelve governors:

Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim.9 Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon-bethhanan.10 Ben-hesed, in Arubboth, including Socoh and all the land of Hepher.11 Ben-abinadab, in all of Naphoth-dor.[a] (He was married to Taphath, one of Solomon’s daughters.)12 Baana son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, all of Beth-shan[b]near Zarethan below Jezreel, and all the territory from Beth-shan to Abel-meholah and over to Jokmeam.13 Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead, including the Towns of Jair (named for Jair of the tribe of Manasseh[c]) in Gilead, and in the Argob region of Bashan, including sixty large fortified towns with bronze bars on their gates.14 Ahinadab son of Iddo, in Mahanaim.15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali. (He was married to Basemath, another of Solomon’s daughters.)16 Baana son of Hushai, in Asher and in Aloth.17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah, in Issachar.18 Shimei son of Ela, in Benjamin.19 Geber son of Uri, in the land of Gilead,[d] including the territories of King Sihon of the Amorites and King Og of Bashan.There was also one governor over the land of Judah.[e]

Solomon’s Prosperity and Wisdom

20 The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They were very contented, with plenty to eat and drink.21 [f]Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River[g] in the north to the land of the Philistines and the border of Egypt in the south. The conquered peoples of those lands sent tribute money to Solomon and continued to serve him throughout his lifetime.

22 The daily food requirements for Solomon’s palace were 150 bushels of choice flour and 300 bushels of meal[h];23 also 10 oxen from the fattening pens, 20 pasture-fed cattle, 100 sheep or goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roe deer, and choice poultry.[i]

24 Solomon’s dominion extended over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza. And there was peace on all his borders.25 During the lifetime of Solomon, all of Judah and Israel lived in peace and safety. And from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, each family had its own home and garden.[j]

26 Solomon had 4,000[k] stalls for his chariot horses, and he had 12,000 horses.[l]

27 The district governors faithfully provided food for King Solomon and his court; each made sure nothing was lacking during the month assigned to him.28 They also brought the necessary barley and straw for the royal horses in the stables.

29 God gave Solomon very great wisdom and understanding, and knowledge as vast as the sands of the seashore.30 In fact, his wisdom exceeded that of all the wise men of the East and the wise men of Egypt.31 He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite and the sons of Mahol—Heman, Calcol, and Darda. His fame spread throughout all the surrounding nations.32 He composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs.33 He could speak with authority about all kinds of plants, from the great cedar of Lebanon to the tiny hyssop that grows from cracks in a wall. He could also speak about animals, birds, small creatures, and fish.34 And kings from every nation sent their ambassadors to listen to the wisdom of Solomon.